With the upcoming time change, a lot of folks switch over to the dark side to get their riding fix. Due to extreme myopia (contacts provide limited detail and glasses can fog) night riding on trails isn't something I can partake in, but open FS roads can be a fun workout - especially on a full moon night. A decent bar mounted light and head lamp will get you around for a couple of hours.

BC has miles of nice access. Try it.

Now you're cast of steel and cast aside. Broken dreams maybe, but you haven't died

It's like mtn biking in a cave on acid. It's very fun and you should try it at least one time. There is a level of mystery and confusion that can't be achieved during the day. Your mind plays tricks on you. There are bats and toads. Things look different. Old familiar trails take on a new unknown strangeness. If you stop and listen you can get the creeps. Rock and roots emerge out of a blur. It's a whole new experience.

Good one

Originally Posted by Maida7

It's like mtn biking in a cave on acid. It's very fun and you should try it at least one time. There is a level of mystery and confusion that can't be achieved during the day. Your mind plays tricks on you. There are bats and toads. Things look different. Old familiar trails take on a new unknown strangeness. If you stop and listen you can get the creeps. Rock and roots emerge out of a blur. It's a whole new experience.

I always seem to blast over more ***** because I can't see it until it too late, its something about having all your focus on the 20 feet in front of you-just where your light shines. Watch out for that guy that sets up bat nets at BC. almost got us at the bottom of Greenslick.

Fun for ugly Trolls

Trolls love the night so just get some good tunes going and go pedal in that dark cave. You will never know what that shadow was over on your left..Night running is fun also you just don`t have the same ability to brighten the dark...hence more shadows and monsters!!!

After heading over Bent Creek Gap from Mills River last night, I'll add that the element of fear when a hunting dog suddenly appears out of the dark on 479, barking his @$$ off and heading straight for your front wheel is a shot of adrenaline you just can't get any other time. I swear his eyes were RED -- but that could have been my light shining in his face.

Heat and Humidity...

Originally Posted by BurnNotice

I never understood night riding and still don't. But to each their own.

When I lived near Charleston, SC, the summer afternoons were way too hot and humid for riding--we had groups as large as 20 on night rides in Marrington... Scanning Foster Creek with your helmet light and seeing dozens of pairs of 'gator eyes was always a rush, as was the occasional 'gator on the trail. Tunnel vision makes for a totally different trail experience, and nothing matches the light saber effects of helmet lights and bar lights cutting through the foggy tree tops during a night ride crash!

It is sorta like being a parent; You just can't really know what it is like until you do it. Night riding offers a new and different perspective on trails, even ones you ride a lot! Your sense of perception is definitely skewed as your visible world shrinks around you. I love it for many reasons but in the winter, it allows me to get my riding fix. In the summer, I night ride to beat the heat and because it is fun. If you're interested in trying it out, Magicshine makes a great light for around $100, considerably less than mainstream brands. Check out the reviews and try some night riding.

You can ride a trail that you know like the back of your hand in daylight, and in the dark it's a totally new trail. All of your daylight landmarks and sight lines are completely different. Depth perception is drastically altered. My riding style changes/slows down, which gives the trail a new feel. I look forward to night riding season every year, and when spring arrives I wish I had night ridden more every year. Plus, you know you're out riding trail while other dudes are stuck on the trainer or not riding at all during the winter.